July 22, 2013

If our tagline is "jewellery with stories to tell", we should really tell you some stories! Have a peek behind the creative curtain; every week, EE girl Alice will give you some insights in to how our pieces came about and the stories behind the names. First up, Hypatia!

Go on a voyage of discovery through the stars with this
interstellar-inspired hand chain! Named after Hypatia, a Greek
philosopher who was the first documented female mathematician. She also
taught astronomy and was an all-round cool lady.

So why Hypatia?

Born in the late 4th Century CE, Hypatia is the first recorded female mathematician, philosopher and astronomer (LADIES IN SCIENCE! WOOT!)

Raised
and lived in Alexandria, northern Egypt, Hypatia was daughter to Theon - himself a famous mathematician. At an early age Theon wanted Hypatia to
become a “perfect human being”. When you consider that at this time, women were thought to be of quite low standing, this was pretty awesome. (Quite the high expectations though, when I was growing up, my dad thought it would be cool if I was an air hostess. That didn't happen, sorry dad. This has nothing to do with the jewellery, so back to Hypatia.) Theon taught Hypatia Mathematics and
encouraged her to develop her mind further by studying the arts,
literature, science and philosophy. A pretty well rounded education. Hypatia travelled
widely and returned to Alexandria becoming a lecturer of philosophy; in
particular she focused on Neoplatonic, the writings of Plotinus, Lamblichus, Plato and Aristotle. Wowsas.

Hypatia
was a charismatic woman, confident in her abilities and knowledge, and a
well respected teacher with students coming from all over the Roman Empire for her classes and lectures. One of Hypatia's most famous
students was Synesius of Cyrene, who later became the Bishop of
Ptolemais and it is thanks to the correspondence between Synesius and
Hypatia that we know of some of her achievements - including diagrams for a
plane astrolabe (used for measuring the positions of the stars,
planets and the sun) and that Hypatia developed a hydrometer. Did we already say wowsas? This lady knew her stuff.

Hypatia
was highly regarded and her intelligence was so renowned that she was able to speak in
front of assemblies of men and was accepted as a scholar. Hypatia’s own
written work has not survived into our modern times but it is recorded
that she wrote at least two mathematics books and one astronomy book.
Works by her father Theon are also credited to being partly written by
Hypatia as well, including an eleven part commentary on Ptolemy’s
Almagest. It is thought that due to these writings and producing new
versions (readable for Hypatia's own students, like in modern times we
write updated texts) that many of the scientific, mathematical and
philosophical ideas have survived.

But....at this time in history, scientific thought was considered "pagan" and unacceptable to a
proportion of Alexandria's population which was itself going through a time of
significant upheavel and change. Many were suspicious of Hypatia's work and sadly, she was murdered around 415/416 CE.

Hypatia has not been lost though! She continues to be a guiding star to the great thinkers and scientists to this day. Quite the inspiration, it was important to us here at EE HQ to name one of our pieces to this great heroine of ours. With an interstellar nebula-like vintage fire opal stone, finished with two brass stars, this seemed like a fantastic astronomy inspired piece for the great Hypatia.

I will leave you with a quote by the great lady herself:

“Life
is an unfoldment and the further we travel the more truth we can
comprehend. To understand the things that are at our door is the best
preparation for understanding those that lie beyond.”

July 17, 2013

Pretty jewellery + gorgeous dresses. They go hand in hand, don't they? One finishes off the other. One of our all time favourite pretty dress brands is the AH-MAZING Miss Patina. They're really a brand after our own heart - with an emphasis on the details and the quirky twists, the design team at Miss Patina draw their inspiration from the fashions of yesteryear and fuse this with modern trends, much like the process here at EE HQ. Perfect combo!

You have probably noticed their dainty wares in our most recent photoshoots. Did you spy them here?

July 10, 2013

The White Queen is based on the best selling 'Cousins War' series of books by Philippa Gregory (of 'The Other Boleyn Girl' fame). Set around 1464 during The War of the Roses, the books/drama follows the story of the women caught up in the conflict and who ultimately shaped our history. We see the unravelling conflict through three women in particular:

Elizabeth Woodville, aka The White Queen, played by Rebecca Ferguson. Elizabeth is the mother of the future Elizabeth of York and the Princes in the Tower (spoiler! But it's already in the history books....)

Margaret Beaufort, or The Red Queen, played by Amanda Hale. Margaret Beaufort is the mother of the future King Henry VII (again with the spoilers!)

And finally the enigmatic Anne Neville, played by Faye Marsey, first wife to Henry VI then to Richard III (popular lady!)

We're hooked! The actors and actresses are amazing (quite a cast), the costumes and settings are beautiful.... what more could you ask for! It's enough to make you look forward to Sunday night.

As we do love our history and the stories and dramas this inspires, we have decided to do two versions of 'Where the Wild Roses Grow' in ode to the series and our heroines.

There will be the original White Rose - symbol or heraldic badge of the House of York 'The White Queen'.

or for a limited time a Red Rose version - heraldic badge of the House of Lancaster 'The Red Queen'.

So are you Team White or Team Red?

Of course there is always 'Rose to the Occasion' for Anne Neville (the lady always rose to what was expected of her).

Our lovely American friends will be waiting until August 10th at 9pm for your first instalment of the ten part series. Until then, add these to your reading list: The White Queen, The Red Queen, Lady of the Rivers, The Kingmakers Daughter and finally out in August: The White Princess.

July 04, 2013

Made from entirely vintage components, a 1940s glass pearl Moon
orbits around an Earth-like stone; with blue, green and gold tones, it
looks just like our home planet! Finished with a brass star charm.
Perfect for space-voyagers everywhere. Shop Orbit now.

Have we ever mentioned how much we love space? It inspired us to make a silly video over on Instagram. Watch it below!